Although a significant amount of research has suggested that negative behaviors often correlate with video gaming, studies that show positive outcomes associated with game play is steadily emerging. According to research by Hamid Allahverdipour et al., moderate video gamers tend to achieve a better academic record than that of both excessive and non-gamers (Allahverdipour et al. 6). In terms of academic performance, Erin Hastings et al. surveyed 70 parents to determine relations between parental monitoring and young children’s behavior and academic success. One of the findings suggested that children who were longer exposed to educational games resulted in a higher academic record (Hastings et al. 646). Something that follows academic success, according to Kimberly Young, is an enabling of adolescents to build stronger self-esteem (Young 366). Moreover, academic performance includes the ability to interact well with others, also known as pro-sociality.
One investigation of a correlation between pro-social behaviors and video games with pro-social mechanics was researched by Tobias Greitemeyer et al. Four tests were conducted to see whether people would engage in pro-social behaviors shortly after playing pro-social games, Lemmings and City Crisis; a neutral game, Tetris; and an antisocial game, Lamers. The design of both Lemmings and City Crisis is to have the player save as many in-game characters as possible. The design of Lamers is to destroy as many in-game characters as possible. Pro-social behaviors included in the tests were helping to pick up spilled pencils, volunteering with further un-compensated research, and intervening to assist a harassed woman; however, not all four tests included all studied behaviors and not all tests included play of the antisocial game, Lamers. As expected, those who played pro-social games were more likely to engage in pro-social behaviors, and those who played the antisocial game, Lamers, were more likely to be antisocial (Greitemeyer et al. 214). One possible reason that pro-social video games might lead to pro-social behavior, brought to light by Greitemeyer et al. amidst their research, is the potential that pro-social video game exposure may lead to pro-social thought, and the thought is what would precede pro-social behavior (212). Compared to watching pro-social television programs, playing pro-social games should be a stronger indication that gamers will engage in pro-social behavior. This is because, unlike passively watching someone else on television engage in pro-social behaviors, players themselves virtually conduct pro-social behaviors throughout interactive environments (213).
Another pro-social movement related to the practice of video game play is that of laparoscopic surgery. This type of surgery requires the use of external electronic controllers, also known as graspers. Sunanda Sadandanan et al. suggested that people who play video games generally report having great hand-eye coordination, fast reaction times, and spatial visualization; which are invaluable skills for laparoscopic surgeons (Sadandanan et al. 68). In their research, Sadandanan et al. had participants engage in a four-step study. In the first step, the participants were instructed to familiarize themselves with the basic laparoscopic controllers (or graspers). The second step was to have participants take three 5-minute tests; the first test was moving pegs, the second was to cut open a condom, and the third was to stretch rubber bands. The study’s third step was to play Sega’s Super Monkey Ball on the Nintendo GameCube for 10 minutes. The fourth step was to repeat the tests listed in step two. According to the pre-game and post-game tests, faster time and better skills were demonstrated during post-game (69). One limitation that Sadandanan et al. admitted was the possibility that better post-game tests may have resulted from becoming familiar with the laparoscopic tests during step two (72). A suggestion was offered that further research should demonstrate a study doing laparoscopic tests in a similar manner as this study, but without video games being played during the break between tests. Regardless of their admitted limitation, Sadandanan et al. recommend that laparoscopic surgeons play video games before surgery so as to enable faster surgical completion times, and thus, less time for a patient to be under anesthesia (72).
Not only can electronic gaming be considered a tool to develop skills useful for laparoscopic surgery, video games are also a source of entertainment. Whether amusement comes from interacting with a video game, watching a movie, or enjoying a ride at Disneyland, one thing that many forms of entertainment have in common is their ability to take audiences into new worlds. Not only can video games be fun and exciting, they also have the capacity to allow players to escape the routines of daily life.
According to research provided by Kimberly Young, players will occasionally be dealing with unpleasant moments in their lives, such as vigorous deadlines for school projects, and will use video games as a coping outlet (Young 362). In situations like this, gamers do not really escape their problems as they hope, but postpone having to deal with them. As soon as gamers turn off their game console or computer, gamers re-enter reality and realize that their game-time resulted in a smaller window of allotted time for completion of school projects. At this point, gamers may possibly sink back into a virtual world for an “escape,” and receive failing grades. Behavioral patterns such as this are regularly associated with addiction.
Mark Griffiths argues that addiction is caused by any substance that presents users with consistent, positive reinforcements and rewards (Griffiths 36). According to Griffiths, several game developers have knowledge of a psychological condition known as the partial reinforcement effect (PRE), where behavior is predicted based upon incentives, and developers will take advantage of the PRE when designing their games (36). To keep customers engaged in their entertainment, many developers will offer various rewards to their fans in exchange for executing more game time. Several game developers, such as Bungie, creators of the Microsoft Xbox 360 game Halo: Reach, will steadily reward their players by providing in-game currency (known as credits in Halo: Reach). 343 Industries, who now helms the creative rights of Halo: Reach, continuously rewards credits to players for completion of online matches, and additional credits for demonstrated skill (i.e. most kills, most assists, etc.). Players can then spend the credits they have earned in Halo: Reach’s digital store, known as the Armory, where players can customize how their virtual avatars will appear to other players online.
Griffiths has proposed that there are six behavioral characteristics of addiction, and in order for a gamer to be officially labeled an addict, all six components must be presently affecting the life of the gamer. Griffiths names these six parameters of addiction as the following: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse, which is a repeat of a previously listed component (Griffiths 36). According to Griffiths, a gamer may indulge in game play for excessive amounts of time and such measurements of time are not necessarily indicators that a player is addicted. A gamer would only be considered an electronic gaming addict if aspects of the player’s life, other than time, are negatively affected (37).
The relation between game rewards and brain activity has been analyzed by Aviv Malkiel Weinstein et al. They conducted a study where ex-“ecstasy” users and non-users were instructed to play a motorbike riding game. The players would have their dopamine levels examined before and after game play. The release of dopamine is the chemical reaction in the brain that is accompanied with a stimulus of reward, also known as the reward circuitry. Weinstein et al.’s study showed that, during game play, non-users had a significantly higher amount of dopamine released than that of those who were ex-“ecstasy” users. Over time, users of psycho-stimulants decrease their ability to experience a natural reward; and according to the examinations of the ex-“ecstasy” users, amounts of released dopamine decreases due to desensitization (Weinstein 274). Additionally, game play results in similar releases of dopamine as that of other pleasurable psycho-stimulants such as, but not limited to: drug abuse, eating, and sexual activity (274). Therefore, it is speculated that long durations of game play may result in a decrease of dopamine releases, which is potentially what leads to tolerance and dependence.
Just as drug abusers adapt to the dosage they partake of to reach a stimulating experience, gamers are also capable of adapting to the lengths of time required for them to obtain a “high” while playing video games (Griffiths 36). Mark Griffiths believes that gamers are more likely to experience tolerance from playing online video games than offline video games due to the reason that, unlike offline games, online games are always active and have no end. This allows gamers to believe that potential digital worlds are left unexplored, and several gamers feel they need to explore as much of the digital worlds as they can in order to get their money’s worth. The longer a gamer spends playing a video game, whether online or offline, the greater the chances are that interpersonal relationships will be damaged with friends or family members in the real world.
According to Kimberly Young, addicted gamers often place gaming as a priority in their lives higher than they place priorities for real-world pro-sociality or responsibilities. Addicted gamers are sometimes willing to give up relationships, jobs, scholarships, grades, fitness, hygiene, and food in order to immerse themselves into a digital world (Young 363). In regards to massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), some players are willing to trade their natural health to increase the digital health of their in-game characters (358).
One thing brought to light by Melissa L. Lewis et al. in regards to the connection between players and video game characters, most notably in MMORPGs, is character attachment. They contrast character attachment with parasocial interaction, which is an intimate feeling with a fictional character such as in a book or film, and character attachment is a mesh of the player’s psychology with that of their digital avatars (Lewis 515). Lewis et al. provided a 17-item questionnaire to 384 gamers, which listed areas of character attachment as identification or friendship, suspension of disbelief, control, and responsibility (517). Some of the items included in the questionnaire that some of the participants admitted were pretending to be the character, seeking inconsistencies in the game, frustration that the character cannot perform exactly how the player desires, and knowing what the needs of the character are, respectively (516). Via the questionnaire, Lewis concluded that players with low self-esteem had a stronger correlation with character attachment than did players with high self-esteem. This is also consistent with Andrew K. Przybylski et al.’s research concerning need satisfaction.
Przybylski et al. investigated the presence of self-determination theory and the dualistic model of passion amid video game play. Przybylski et al. first defined these terms before going into detail regarding their respective relations to video game play. Self-determination theory suggests that individuals have a basic psychological need satisfaction consisting of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Przybylski et al. 485). The dualistic model of passion represents harmonious and obsessive passion, wanting to versus having to, respectively (486). With these two studies in mind, Przybylski et al. sought to answer some of their questions, namely: understanding the source of a gamer’s passion, understanding how a player’s passion influences enjoyment and mood, understanding contributions to the well-being of the player, and how quality of play relates to length of play as well as negative results in a player’s life (486). Przybylski et al. provided a questionnaire to 1,324 players, who were instructed to record their habits of playing a video game for one month prior to taking the survey. Przybylski et al.’s survey revealed each player’s game type, trait level need satisfaction, harmonious and obsessive passion, game enjoyment, weekly play time, post-play energy and tension, life satisfaction, and psychological and physical health of said participants (487). Based on their research, Przybylski et al. suggest that players with high levels of need satisfaction are correlated with having harmonious passion, and players with low levels of need satisfaction are correlated with having obsessive passion. Moreover, players who have high levels of need satisfaction are able to enjoy games in a short amount of time. In contrast, players who have low levels of need satisfaction require a longer amount of time to be satisfied. Long durations of game time may be one of the appealing factors of MMORPGs.
According to Young, gamers who play MMORPGs are now capable of customizing their avatars in areas of race, gender, and occupation. Accordingly, if enough time passes, players may blend virtual reality with their own reality (Young 357). Some gamers take great care in selecting what their character’s name will appear to other online players. MMORPGs do not have an end, and time in the real world must be traded for time in the virtual world if players insist that their characters grow in strength. One positive aspect that Young brought to light is that MMORPGs allow players to communicate with one another, and this communication may be a means for developing strong friendships and even emotional relationships with other players; however, this would only be positive if damage is not done to real-life relationships (359). For gaming addicts, real-life family relationships and friendships take time away from a gamer’s intimate bonds with other online gamers, and may appear to the gamer to be less satisfying. According to Young, the social aspect of MMORPGs is the strongest factor for online gaming addiction. Young detailed that online gaming addictions do not just affect the gamer, but others involved in the gamer’s life as well. Young listed a few examples where young parents who were preoccupied with gaming had allowed their infants to be neglected, become malnourished, and in some cases, die (360). Whether addicted gamers are confronted by those who care about them, or whether an invitation is lovingly extended to gamers to engage in a pro-social activity, gaming addicts may view such confrontations and invitations as threats to their habitual game time. In some cases, addicts may show irritability, resentment, anger, and even violence toward friends or family members who they believe is a threat to their game time (Young 359).
The question of whether violent behavior is correlated or caused by violent video game play was explored by Rebecca M. Chory et al. They summarized video game preferences based on personality traits and label the five basic personality traits as the following: extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. They concluded that persons who are extroverts are more likely to enjoy violent video games than non-violent video games (Chory et al. 192). While research is inconsistent with neurotics, Chory et al. hypothesized that neurotics are likely to frequently play violent video games, not as enjoyment, but as curiosity about violent depictions (193). When detailing the personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness, Chory et al. also mentioned psychoticism, and concluded that individuals who have high agreeableness and high conscientiousness will be less likely to play violent video games than psychotics, who tend to seek out socially acceptable outlets where they can express their desires in a fantasy-type world and behave violently through an avatar when they normally would not or could not do so in real life (193). Finally, individuals who have openness personality traits are concluded to be likely to play violent video games. They also like to explore other worlds and see new sights (194).
In each of their conclusions, Chory et al. offered two types of hypotheses for each personality trait. For example, first they hypothesized that extroverts are likely to prefer violent video games, and secondly that gamers who play violent video games tend to have an increase of extroversion (Chory et al. 192). In neither of these hypotheses did Chory et al. indicate causes, but rather, they maintained correlations between personality and game genre preference. Since history contains examples of violent behavior in the absence of violent video game play (such as when Cain slew Abel), arguments that suggest violence in video games is what causes long-term violent behavior among adolescents have little merit. Furthermore, Erin Hastings et al. reported that children who usually choose to play violent video games generally have aggressive behaviors prior to gaming, which indicates that violent video games cannot be blamed for causing initial aggressive behaviors. What must be considered, however, is that further exposure to violence in video games may lead to stronger aggressive behavior later on in a player’s life (Harris et al. 638-9). While it must be noted that video games do not cause initial aggression among players, what must be taken into consideration is the fact that real-world behaviors can be acted out in virtual environments.
Michail D. Kozlov et al. did not focus on addiction in their study, but rather, they demonstrated that real-world behaviors, such as the bystander effect, could take place in video games. The bystander effect is a suggestion that individuals will likely stand idly when included in an idle crowd, and thus, becoming less likely to help someone in need. Their experiment consisted of a sample of college students who were given a task to make their way through a maze in a virtual environment, some with time pressure, and others without. In both cases, the students were instructed that getting through the maze was the most important task. In addition the students were told that some rooms would include virtual characters that may interact with the players asking for help. Kozlov et al. then informed the students that some of the rooms would be observation rooms where the players would observe a digital character helping another digital character (the students being aware that these digital characters were not human-controlled over a network) and that there would be assistance rooms where bystanders may be present. Kozlov et al. conducted the experiment twice. Each test included both the players with time pressure and the players without time pressure. The difference with the second experiment was that the number of digital bystanders increased. With more bystanders present in the rooms; the players, and more especially the players with time pressure, became less likely to help (Kozlov et al. 713). Because the students were instructed to imagine the characters to be more human, as it was shown in the first experiment that they felt little to no embarrassment in not helping a virtual character, this testing was consistent with the bystander effect. Knowledge that real-life behaviors can be implemented in virtual environments may cause some to question whether gamers desensitize themselves to violent simulations such as raping and killing prostitutes in Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. To answer this question, further research must be explored.
In summation, video games have evolved from simple, two-dimensional games to complex, virtual worlds that mimic real-life locations such as the Disneyland Adventures video game for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect. Some tips that Kimberly Young gives to parents to help prevent children from becoming addicted to video game play include the following: setting time limits on gaming, encouraging gamers to rest their eyes and take a moment to get out of their gaming posture, push for offline games, change the source in which adolescents feel powerful, encourage adolescents to focus more on academic progress—enabling adolescents to build stronger self-esteem—and family therapy if needed (Young 365-6). When limits are placed upon game time, video game play is an entertaining, recreational activity that allows players to explore new worlds while remaining inexpensive in contrast to vacation travel. In the absence of time limits, however, video game play can have adverse effects on players over long durations of time. As pointed out by Van Rooji et al., some game publishers, such as Blizzard and Square-Enix, have included warning labels during loading screens on some of their games; however, Van Rooji et al. point out that warning labels are also printed on tobacco products, which do not appear to be extremely effective in prohibiting their use. Therefore, it is inferred that warnings on video game loading screens may not be enough to discourage gamers from spending too much time playing games (Van Rooji et al. 490). Excessive game play frequently leads to addictive behaviors, which are prevalent among adolescents. To protect friend and family relationships; parents, spouses, and gamers alike, need to be aware of the dangers that lie behind excessive video game play and should adjust accordingly.
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